Clamp



Feb. 2 7, 1945.

F. c. WALLACE 2,370,336

CLAMP I Filed Aug. 22, 1942 2 sheets-sheet 1 Patented Feb. 27, 1945 PATENT o Price yCLAMP Frank C. Wallace, Los Angeles,-Calif.,fassignon'by vmesne assignments, to .Herman .H. Helbush,

Beverly `Hills, Calif.

Application AugustiZZ, 1942, Serial No. 455,760

.3 .Claims invention relates to -clampdevices- More lparticularly it has to A'do iwith improvements in 'skin clamps such as are employed for 'holding .perforated sheets yin `superposed relation rwhile they :are ibeing riveted.

It is among the principal objects of -my invverrtion to :provide fa .clamp of this character whiohisself-.containediin 'that it does .notfrequ'ire .any `applying .tool in connection 'with =ts1op`era ".tion; and which iis particularly adaptable for heavy duty work Irequiring Y'greater vstrength and pressures .than :are 'possible in ythe yconventional `clamp yerr-rploying *spring means to "appl-y the clamping pressure.

.Anotherobject isithe lprovi-sion of a 'duraible, economical and Vefficient skin clamp.

Still 'further objects and advantages are inherent fin Amy invention and 'Show those'as well :as rthednregoing are achieved willbe=understood from the ffollowing detailed description of a ;presently preferred -form of clamp iny which my invention may be carried out, -ior which pur- .pose I :shall refer to the accompanying draw ings, 'in which:

jFig. `1 is a side lview partly in longitudinal section vand partly in elevation;

Fig. 2 .is a side elevation fshowing the Vclamp in :the courseof lbeing applied tothe work;

Fig. I3 Aisa -side elevation showing the l'device in (clamping position;

Fig. 4 `is an end view;

Fig. 5 is :a longitudinal sectional view, partly -i-n `elevation, showing a variational form; and

Fig. 16 is a 'section on line -6-5 of Fig. 5 but lshowing :the spreading member retracted.

Referring now Ito the edrawingsfthe numeral 5 .designates a body or 'retaining member comprised of a threaded shank portion 6 and bifurcations or retaining pins l, six bifurcations being here shown although a greater or lesser number may be employed. Member 5 has a longitudinal vbore 8 and a longitudinal keyway 9 for the purpose to be described. Slidable longitudinally of the retaining member I provide a sleeve l5 having a hexagonal outer surface I6 and a circular sheet engaging end portion Il. To hold this sleeve against rotation with respect to the retaining member, I provide a key I8 which projects through a side wall of the sleeve and into the keyway 9.

Bifurcations 'I are provided with lateral projections la at their outer ends, which projections provide sheet engaging portions to engage` the periphery of the perforation P provided through the sheet S', the Vsheet farthest from the sheet engaging end'portion l-l of the sleeve, 'and the 'bifurcations are preferably made resillent Ato 'permit them to Vflex together sufficiently to insert the retaining member `Athrough fthe 1:5 rregistering perforationsv in the sheets '('see `-Fig.2).

A circular spreader "2D is slidably vmounted in the bore `of the 'retaining member, and 'has va stem 2l presenting a'hea'dedend 222 Ifor manual operation. The spreader 12'0 is of relatively Ilarger diameter than the stem and intersects the .stem

in a bevel 23 which engagesfthe shoulder 52B lin the retaining member zto provide a stop against further movement "in the directionfof 'the headed end of the stem.

11:5 4Anut 30 is threaded onto lthe threaded-shank L6 -of the retainingfmember and presents an lintegral operating Ahandle f3.2 AAto 'facili-tate manually turning the nut on the retaining member. Nut '30 has an 'undersurface `3I`l ve'ngage'able against im) sleeve l5. `vThe 'nut 30 and fsleeve I5 lcooperate as. looking or securing means zto `secure the d'e- -vice in lclamping position as 'will be hereinafter described.

The device operatesas follows: "First, to lin- 25 sert the bifurcations l in'ftheregistering perfora- 'tions provided in :superposed-s'heets S, S", the operator pulls vstem '2l :outwardly to slide the spreader 2D until it a-buts -the stop 4shoulder 121, in which position the-'spreader is out vvoi spread ing engagement with the bif-urcationsl (see Figs.

l y'and 2f). IThen the biurc'ations A'are inserted lthrough the per-forations "(Fi'g., 2) and 1afterlbe ing inserted until the sheet-engaging surface il lof the-sleeve I5 rests against the ya'djacentsheei'.

3'5 S y'(Fig. 3), the stem '2| is pushed inwardly fto 40 periphery of the perforation in sheet S and urge the sheet engaging surface Il of the sleeve against sheet S, thus clamping together the superposed sheets, the retaining member and spreader acting to retain the perforations in register. After thus bringing the parts into clamping position the nut 3B and sleeve l5 serve to lock them in that position until released by turning handle 32.

The device is adaptable to clamping sheets of varying .thicknesses since the Asheet engaging u if desired to hold the retaining member and face 53 engageable against the inner end of the sleeve 45. The body is provided with a longitudinal slot 55 (Fig. 6) and a pin 56 extends through sleeve 45 into the slot to prevent rota tion of the sleeve relative to the body but to permit relative longitudinal sliding movement therebetween.

The retaining member is comprised of two separate pins 6D, 60a having enlarged outer ends 6I and plane inner faces 62, the inner ends of the pins being headed at 63, which heads seat against the inner surface of end wall 42.

An elongated spreader bar 'lll is slidably mounted in the bore of the body and has a reduced end portion 1l which slides between the pins 60, 60a to expand the latter apart, the outer end portion l2 of the spreader bar providing an operating stem carrying a knob 'I3 secured thereon by `a pin 14. Spreader portion ll is longitudinally slotted at 15 and a cross pin 76 extends through registering holes in the bodyand pin head 63, the pin extending transversely through the slot. Thus pin 'I6 prevents relative movementas between the retaining pins and the body and, in cooperation with the ends of the slots 15, limits movement of the spreader bar. l

The operation of the device of Figs. 5 and 6 is as follows: When the device is in the position of Fig. 6 the spreader is retracted from between the outer ends of the pins 60, 60a to permit the enlarged ends of the pins to be flexed together and inserted through perforations in sheets to be clamped together. After being thus inserted until the work engaging surface 46 of the sleeve abuts the adjacent face of the work, the spreader is pushed inwardly to the position of Fig. 5, in which position the spreader portion 1I- moves the outer ends of the pins 60, 60a apart and then as the nut 5il is turned on the body, the enlarged ends 6I of the pins are drawn against the periphery of the perforation in which the retaining pins are inserted, thus clamping the Work between the pin ends 6| and work en-l gaging surface 46. To release the clamp, the spreader bar is again retracted to the position of Fig. 6.

While, in the foregoing description, 'I have resorted to considerable detail in order clearly to explain one specific form of device in which my invention may be carried out, I wish it understood that, in its broader aspects, my invention is not limited to such details.

1. A clamp comprising an externally threaded cylindric body having an end Wall with an opening therethrough, said body presenting a transverse hole through its side wall, a pair of retaining pins each having a headed inner end seating against the inner surface of the body end wall and an outer end projecting from the body, a spreader bar disposed longitudinally of the body for sliding movement between the retaining pins, a longitudinal slot in the spreader bar, a, pin extending through the transverse hole in the body and through the inner ends of the retaining pins to secure the latter against longitudina1 movement with respect to the body, a sleeve slidable longitudinally on the body, and nut means threaded onto the body and engageable against the sleeve whereby to cause relative longitudinal movement as-between the retaining pins and sleeve.

2. A clamp comprising a cylindric exteriorly threaded body, a pair of retaining pins carried by and projecting from the outer end of the body, a spreader bar disposed longitudinally of the body for sliding movement between the retaining pins, said spreader bar having an integral portion projecting from the inner end of the body for manual manipulation, a sleeve mounted on the body for sliding movement axially thereof, and a Wing nut threaded onto the body and engageable at its end against an end of the sleeve whereby to cause relative longitudinal movement as between the sleeve and body in response to rotation of the nut relative to the body.

3. A clamp comprising an externally threaded cylindric body having an end wall with an opening therethrough, a pair ofv retaining pins each having a headed inner end seating against the inner surface of the body end wall and an outer end projecting from the body through the .opening, means securing the pins against longitudinal movement relative to the body, a spreader bar disposed longitudinally of the body for sliding movement between the retaining pins, a sleeve slidable longitudinally on the body, and nut means threaded onto the body and engageable at its .end against an end of the sleeve whereby to cause relative longitudinal movement as between the sleeve and body in response to rotation of the nut means relative to the body.

FRANK C. WALLACE. 

